Longhorns happy to remain in Big 12 Conference

MIKE FINGER , Austin Bureau

Published
5:30 am CDT, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

AUSTIN — Despite the Big 12's recent loss of two members, a lack of a new TV deal and no guarantees that realignment won't rear its head in the future, Texas president William Powers announced Tuesday the Longhorns are making a "long-term and unequivocal commitment" to the 10-team conference.

In a press conference with men's athletic director DeLoss Dodds and women's athletic director Chris Plonsky, Powers said UT — which entertained an offer to join the Pac-10 and appeared to be leaning in that direction as recently as Sunday — is happy with its position in the pared-down Big 12.

"Now we have stability," Powers said. "We're in a far better position now than we were three months ago."

UT was motivated to keep the Big 12 together from the beginning, but when Nebraska and Colorado defected last week, the league looked doomed. Only when Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe and ABC/ESPN executives presented a plan showing the conference was still viable in terms of TV revenue did the Longhorns feel comfortable enough to stay put.

Powers said there is no new TV deal in place, but that the Big 12's old contracts -- with Fox Sports and ABC/ESPN -- will not decrease in value as a result of Nebraska and Colorado leaving. Therefore each team will get a bigger share of the revenues, and UT will be free to pursue creation of its own TV network, something the Longhorns would not have been able to do in the Pac-10.

Texas officials says they are committed “long-term” to the Big 12.

Texas officials says they are committed “long-term” to the Big 12.

Photo: EDWARD A. ORNELAS, San Antonio Express-News

Photo: EDWARD A. ORNELAS, San Antonio Express-News

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Texas officials says they are committed “long-term” to the Big 12.

Texas officials says they are committed “long-term” to the Big 12.

Photo: EDWARD A. ORNELAS, San Antonio Express-News

Longhorns happy to remain in Big 12 Conference

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

That, combined with UT's preference to keep its student-athletes closer to home and to preserve old rivalries, kept the Big 12 together.

"There was not one tipping point," Powers said. "It was an overall evaluation."

Plonsky said the selling points that made the Big 12 a viable league in the first place were overlooked during realignment talk.

"Do not underestimate the existing platforms," Plonsky said. "This league, despite the choices of two of our members, is not bereft of strength."

Interestingly, though, it's still bereft of any legally binding document to prevent schools from leaving in the future. Powers said he talked with each university president in the conference, and Dodds said he did the same with the athletic directors, and all they asked for was a public commitment to the league's future.

"That's all the trust we need," Powers said.

And even though tensions ran high within the Big 12 during the realignment saga, Dodds said he doesn't anticipate any problems in how the surviving schools will get along.

"We live in athletics — we beat each other up on Saturdays and we hug each other on Sundays," Dodds said. "I feel good about the relationship."